What kind of twisted, nature-hating hack would take an electrical saw to city saplings in the dead of night? Right now, most of Queens would like to know the answer.

The daring theft - or was it massacre - of a dozen young trees in Middle Village's Juniper Valley Park shocked residents, elected officials, and turned the police loose on a manhunt to find those responsible.

A reward of $2,500 has even been established for anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest or conviction of the tree bandits. In the midst of the deepest recession in seven decades, that’s not chump change.

Arborcide, as many have pointed out in the past few days, is a serious crime. We hope the culprits are caught, and, more importantly, that a lesson is served and people learn to respect our parks.